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CREWE-BASED Cheshire Academy is more than a sporting centre – it’s a therapeutic school which prides itself on offering support to the whole family.

Some of the youngsters who attend the academy have severe behaviour problems.

Staff work with the children and their families to help them.

“Sport is used as a means of teaching educational skills, behaviour skills and social skills,” said the academy’s co-founder, Iain Chalmers.

“We teach them about making friends and working together as a team.”

Some of the children Iain and his co-workers have dealt with over the years have not been able to take advantage of nursery places because of behavioural problems.

“They’ve not been able to go to nursery because their behaviour has been so bad because of special needs and they were falling through the net,” said Iain. “We work with these families, look at the behaviour and teach them so they can be successfully re-integrated back into school.”

As well as a well-equipped gym and other sporting facilities, the new premises will boast extras such as a family room, a multi-function room and a sensory room.

All this will help with the whole-family support.

Iain said: “We’re going to make a family room. One of the problems at the academy at the moment is, if you’ve got a mother that comes in who’s very uncertain or upset about their child, at the moment they have to sit in the corridor and talk to us whereas here (Broad Street) they can come in, have a cup of tea and talk properly about the issue in private.”

The multi-function room will be used for groups such as choirs, adult special needs groups and youth clubs.

The sensory room will provide a relaxing environment for the children and young people.

The academy is being helped by parents and volunteers who have worked on areas such as improving the gardens.

The council has stumped up the cash to bring the building up to a minimum legal standard.

These funds do not cover any aspects of decoration or renovation.

Iain said: “The whole building needs re-painting. The academy is keen to keep running costs as low as possible so we need help from energy companies and experts to reduce energy costs.”

The charity also needs funding for new equipment and help with the provision of security.

“We are keen to get the help of local businesses, companies and organisations which will help us to get up and running in our new home.”

The academy aims to become the focus of the community around the Broad Street area.

“This is one of the most deprived areas in Cheshire East,” said Iain. “We want to open this up for local people to use it.”

As well as some rooms being available for rent by local groups there are also plans for a community cafe.

“We will be providing low cost meals so three days a week we’re going to provide good quality, low cost meals for local people,” said Iain.

The cafe will also be a learning area for many of the young people with special needs who attend the academy.

“We will be teaching them work skills. How to serve, how to clear a table, how to take an order,” he said “We’ll be teaching them how to do all these things.

“We aim to make this building not just the hub of the centre but the hub of the community.”